Sun, 26 May 2019 00:27:07 +1000WeeblyWed, 23 Jan 2019 01:02:26 GMThttp://www.wattblock.com/news/january-23rd-201921.6% of residential houses in Australia now have solar panels but residential strata schemes housing 2.2m Australians have not yet joined the solar revolution. This whitepaper is designed to assist non-technical strata committee members navigate the renewable energy journey.

In the final quarter of 2018, a huge milestone was reached when the 2 millionth rooftop in Australia installed solar panels. 21.6% of residential houses now have solar panels installed. However, residential strata continues to be ‘locked out’ of the solar revolution for a number of reasons. It is estimated that less than 0.5% of apartment buildings have installed solar panels at present.

Wattblock released a Solar on Strata Whitepaper in January 2019 to assist the nation’s strata schemes increase their uptake of solar. Based upon information collected through over 250 solar feasibility studies for residential strata schemes and real experience from 20 solar installs on apartment buildings, it aims to de-mystify solar for strata committees.

Academic research is also coming to the strata on solar space. In December 2018, a UNSW team led by PhD candidate Mike Roberts revealed preliminary findings from a year-long study, with the full report to be published in 2019. The ‘solar potential’ opportunity they see in apartment buildings across Australia is 2.9-4 GWp, which is a lot.

According to Mike, “now that solar panels are 90 per cent cheaper to install than they were 10 years ago, some solutions for renters and apartment dwellers are being offered up.”[1] As it turns out, 6.5% of the unused roofspace suitable for solar panels in Australia is located on residential strata buildings. Furthermore, 62% of the residential strata buildings are under 4 storeys high.

Wattblock’s whitepaper considers the main issues for strata committees:

City of Sydney: Electric Vehicle Charging in Apartment Buildings

City of Sydney grant funded study released 26th July 2018 includes national survey results from over 130 strata schemes and 20 case study assessments.

Under the Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategic plan the City of Sydney provided innovation grant funding to study Electric Vehicle (EV) charging in residential apartment buildings. The final report was approved on 26th July 2018. The study was conducted by Wattblock with in-kind contributions from Evercharge, AGL and Tesla. You can download a copy of the report here.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City of Sydney is proud to support Wattblock prepare for a future where more people living in apartments will need to charge their electric vehicles.

“Wattblock’s research is a great example of the type of projects our environmental grants program is designed to support. Their insights will guide conversations about the infrastructure required in order to cope with more electric vehicles in our city.”

The project examined current Electric Vehicle (EV) charging solutions for residential strata, different commercial models, strata by-laws, and government incentive programs to promote uptake. In addition, the final report covers research looking at how utility companies can play a role in avoiding localised power outages due to “EV clustering” and the impact of EV charging Demand Management (DM) solutions.

As part of the project 20 residential apartment buildings (3,317 apartments) were engaged to receive an electric vehicle assessment report for their building. Participant buildings were selected to cover a cross section of building size, demographics, and representation across different suburbs within the City of Sydney. Wattblock also ran a resident survey to gauge attitudes and intentions of residents toward electric vehicles and charging facilities. The survey has been extended with 131 strata schemes to date from the broader Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast.

Wattblock project director and co-founder, Ross McIntyre said “Overwhelmingly 81% of survey respondents in the City of Sydney were in favour of installing electric vehicle charging facilities”. Findings from the project include:

48% of respondents plan to have an electric vehicle within the next 5 years

For the 20 participant buildings investment to provide full access to EV charging has a 2.9 year payback

New developments are starting to market their buildings as “EV Ready” to attract premium values

The full Electric Vehicle Recharging in Residential Strata Buildings project report can be downloaded online. The project report includes a high level decision tree diagram and checklists that can be further used to assist strata in working through the issues. The report covers issues such as how to bill owners for charging, which location is the best, how to set it up, types of charging equipment, and risks around overloading the common area power supply. The report also provides some analysis around the location and impact of public charging stations as well as the carbon impact with the deployment of electric vehicles.

Wattblock is calling for further participants in their national resident survey. Running a survey is a logical starting point for understanding intentions and attitudes toward electric vehicles. Strata managers can contact Wattblock to register and set up the survey for their strata schemes. The broader results will be used to assist local councils in planning for electric vehicle charging.

For further reading you can download the report, executive presentation and media release online here.

Ross McIntyreEditor, Strata Energy News

*Note: The City’s Environmental Performance Innovation Grant program supports feasibility and demonstration projects that test or demonstrate new technologies and processes that are not currently implemented in the local market, but have the potential to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions and resource efficiencies at scale within the City of Sydney Local Government Area. Grant funding supports the City’s work towards the environmental performance targets included in its community strategic plan Sustainable Sydney 2030.

]]>Mon, 06 Aug 2018 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.wattblock.com/news/generation-wSponsored by City of Sydney and presented by Lord Mayor Clover Moore, "Generation W" took home the Strata Community Environmental and Engagement Award.

Sustainability and a white dress code (en Blanc) were central themes at the annual SCA (NSW) CHU Strata Community Awards last Friday night. Held at Four Seasons Hotel there were over 430 attendees.

The City of Sydney sponsored the sustainability award which recognises strata schemes reducing their impact on the environment. City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore gave a speech about the importance of sustainability. She noted that all four finalists were recipients of grants under the City of Sydney Smart Green Apartments program.

Wattblock director Ross McIntyre commented that the strata committee will be thrilled to received the award. Ross noted that Generation W had gone above and beyond LED lighting to also look at heat pump technology. Committee members Tim Cunningham and Chris Nunn were instrumental in pushing this project through.​​

The finalists for the award included:

Generation W: Once a commercial store house the development has been re-purposed and refurbished for residential usage in Woolloomooloo. The strata scheme has completed LED lighting, central hot water heat pump, vegetable and herb gardens and a worm farm! This is what it takes to achieve a 5-star NABERS rating.The Watertower: Approved by Clover Moore herself for redevelopment into residential apartments in 1984. The strata committee has been working through hot water and LED lighting projects.Summit Apartments: Large scale redevelopment on George Street Sydney approved in 2014 which committed to achieving an environmental performance standard for the building tower above the minimum requirements.Bauhaus Apartments: One of the first participants in the City of Sydney Smart Green Apartments program under Chairman Gordon Streight. Bauhaus has now established a recycle depot in a re-purposed car space.

​Generation W Overview (SP78602)​Importantly the strata committee at Generation W have implemented a new heat pump system for the central hot water supply to the apartments. Heat pump technology has advanced significantly in the last few years and has been able to deliver energy savings of 70% for the residents. Heat pumps work on the principle of heat exchange, similar to the way a refrigerator works, only in reverse.​

​ Generation W Sustainability Goals

Generation W is a low-rise residential strata scheme. Once a commercial store house the development has been re-purposed and refurbished for residential usage. The strata scheme now consists of 35 units with 3 residential floors and 140 square meters of roof space.

The strata scheme has an active Owners Corporation that seeks to carry forward the principles of re-use, sustainability and community. The committee rallies the other owners in the pursuit of innovative solutions in the efficient and responsible use of resources including energy, waste and food. The OC initiated a sustainability plan and has acted on the recommendations with enthusiasm to see it through.

Sustainability Initiatives

Generation W obtained a ratings and assessment grant from the City of Sydney to investigate carbon abatement opportunities. Conducted by Wattblock the report identified a number of projects to pursue further.

The common hot water system for the apartments has now been upgraded to a heat pump system. Solar thermal hot water solutions were also investigated. In the case of Generation W the heat pump technology demonstrated the greatest savings potential. The central location of the existing water boilers in the basement car park was ideally suited to a heat pump implementation. Generation W was able to take advantage of existing piping infrastructure and the existing location of the boilers was sound proof and well ventilated for efficient operation. This is very typical for strata schemes. Heat pump technology is often overlooked, so this project serves as a useful demonstration for other strata schemes. Generation W have entertained several visitors with an interest in this technology.

The committee also followed through with an LED lighting upgrade in common areas including basement carpark, fire escapes, stairwells, corridors, and external lights. Dimmable enlighten Chamaeleon lights were used where appropriate to maximize the savings impact.

Solar PV, smart meters and batteries have also been investigated with various solutions explored. The current Solar PV proposal involves development of unused roof space for 12kW of Solar PV panels while allowing for a proposed communal BBQ in another area of the roof. Solar PV logically follows the energy efficiency projects already implemented at the site to achieve a ‘right sized’ solar PV system.

In addition to energy efficiency, water and renewable energy projects, the committee has also established an extensive community vegetable and herb garden. This includes implementation of a new food waste composting system and a worm farm. The scheme already has recycling bins.

Measurable Results in Sustainability Outcomes

The common hot water heat pump project achieved the biggest impact with a net 70% reduction in energy usage for hot water. The prior gas hot water system was estimated to be using 429,103 MJ p.a. billed directly to apartments. The new electric heat pump solution is estimated to be using only 130,284 MJ p.a (36,190 kWh equivalent). Furthermore the heat pump solution has allowed load shifting away from peak periods further alleviating local energy demand on the grid.

The LED lighting project reduced the overall common area energy consumption from 36,681kWh to 12,599 kWh, representing a 65% saving of 24,082kWh p.a.

The main ground floor common area now hosts a thriving open air communal garden which is used for growing food including: Strawberries, Paw paw, Olives, Asparagus, Lemons, Sweet potatoes, Rhubarb, Parsley (both Asian and curly), Limes, Kaffir limes, Passion fruit, Beetroot, Egg plant, Pumpkin, Tomatoes, Rocket, Chillies, Jalapeños. There are also heaps of herbs including: Thyme, Oregano, Sage, Chives, Basil, Rosemary, and Bay leaves. Residents are able to place food waste in composting bins. This is supplied with worms from a small worm farm maintained by one resident to help break down the waste and develop the soil.

Additional Benefits

The use of the common area for a vegetable and herb garden has been a tremendous boost to community engagement. The garden serves a source of food, learning, waste recycling, and as a social outlet. This has broken down barriers and raised enthusiasm in the discussion of other projects including energy efficiency, water, waste, transport, and renewable energy projects.

Strata committee meetings are enlivened by discussion around these various projects and are now better informed about the attitudes and feeling of owners and residents in the community.

Financially owners are already benefitting from a 65% reduction in common area energy costs which is reducing the burden on strata levies and opening up the potential for more community projects. Residential hot water bills are also benefiting from a net 70% reduction in energy consumption. Residents are also benefiting from free organically grown food that is more nutritious and tastes better than supermarket produce.

Major Challenges Overcome

Implementing Solar PV has been the greatest challenge. While the site has good solar access with 140 square meters of roof space, there have been several complications to work through.

The first complication was the realisation that energy efficiency initiatives should be implemented first to reduce the overall energy footprint. This proved to be good advice with the now dramatically reduced common area energy load. This avoided potential over investment.

A second consideration has been whether or not solar PV should be implemented just for the reduced common area loads, or expanded to include apartment energy consumption. While apartment energy usage offers the opportunity to deploy a much larger solar energy system, the complications and costs did not stack up. The committee remains alert to new commercial solutions in this space.

Another challenge has been competing use cases for the available rooftop area. Members in the community have put forward various proposals which have been considered. In particular there is strong support for the development of a rooftop BBQ area. This in itself is a complex proposal requiring engineering assessment and council approvals. Support for the rooftop BBQ project has grown since the community has implemented the vegetable garden. The residents an enthusiastic about having a BBQ area to share the new food source in an open community environment.

Engaging Residents on Environmental Initiatives

With all these projects the committee has worked to overcome the barriers through regular committee meetings, documenting the progress, engaging professionals, and distributing findings with the community via email. The vegetable garden setting often serves as an informal discussion forum. Because of this, residents make the extra effort to read reports and findings. We have also held more formal community gatherings to talk through the issues.

This case study was provided by the strata committee at Generation W. Please contact Wattblock if you would like more information.

​Ross McIntyreEditor, Strata Energy News

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Wattblock on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.

]]>Sun, 05 Aug 2018 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.wattblock.com/news/2018-awards​The annual SCA (NSW) CHU Strata Community Awards Gala Dinner and Presentation was held on Friday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney with over 430 attendees dressed to impress in a sea of white, celebrating with their peers as the 2018 winners were revealed.

2018 SCA (NSW) CHU Strata Community Award Winners

The 2018 CHU Strata Community Awards provides an exceptional opportunity to recognise and reward amazing businesses and individuals whose passion, determination and success inspire other businesses and people. According to SCA NSW “Excellence is a journey and not a destination. To help with this journey the 2018 CHU Strata Community Awards provides a means of measuring and benchmarking within our industry in NSW.”

Strata Community Environmental & Engagement AwardStrata Plan 78602 - "Generation W" (Case Study Here)Sponsored by the City of Sydney this award recognises strata schemes that focus on reducing their impact on the environment through sustainability initiatives. City of Sydney Lord Major Clover Moore presented the award.

Excellence in InnovationPICA GroupThis award acknowledges businesses that have made significant contributions to their industry through the introduction or improvement of an idea, method, technology, process or application.

​Strata Community Management Business – LargeBright & DugganSponsored by BCB Strata Insurance Brokers this award is for a large scale strata community management business (over 2000 lots under management) that has devised and implemented strategies for service excellence and sustainable growth and profitability over the last 12 months

Strata Community Management Business – SmallThe Strata CollectiveSponsored by PICA Group this award recognises a small scale strata community management business (less than 2000 lots under management) that has devised and implemented strategies for service excellence and sustainable growth and profitability over the last 12 months.

Strata Services BusinessHavencab GroupSponsored by CRM Brokers this award recognises a company that attained impressive growth and is able to show specific strategies and processes implemented to achieve sustainable growth over the previous 12 months.

Strata Community ManagerLani Zaubzer, Strata PlusBAC Insurance Brokers sponsored this award for an individual that has demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen and innovative ideas.

Strata Community Manager – Rising StarSarah Hogg, BCS Strata ManagementThis award recognises a new entrant to the industry who has shown outstanding early progress in their career.

Support Team MemberSimone Firns, Network Pacific Strata ManagementSponsored by Rockend this award recognises a person behind the scenes who has made an outstanding contribution to the success of their team.

Essay AwardNatalie Fitzgerald, Strata SenseAwarded for her 1000 word essay on the topical issue of mental well being in the strata industry.

Award category sponsors also included RECON Jobs and Macquarie Bank.

The judges were blown away by the number of entries across all nine award categories commenting that there was a significant number of excellent, high quality submissions and that they get better each year with scoring in some categories extremely difficult. The full list of nominees is listed here.

SCA NSW commented that it was great to see the quality and breadth in the industry with high achieving young strata managers. The strata sector has seen an increase in the new and talented people entering into the industry and developing as professionals. SCA thanks the judges, everyone who attended the awards gala dinner, all of the awards entrants, the award category sponsors and SCA awards partner CHU Underwriting Agencies.

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Wattblock on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.

NABERS Extends Six Star Rating to Apartment Buildings

The six star "NABERS for Apartment Buildings" rating system was officially launched in June 2018. ​Assessments must be conducted by an accredited NABERS assessor and are expected to cost $1,160 each time + assessor fees. Some strata schemes are being offered a 50% discount by local councils to participate. However, not all strata schemes are advised to participate if they are not sure about the outcome.

​NABERS is the "National Australian Built Environment Rating System". It is similar to the energy ratings we have for domestic appliances like fridges, only applied to buildings. It is already well established in the commercial building space and has been in trial with 20 participant strata schemes since mid 2017. ​​The long-awaited tool will measure the energy performance of central services, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, pool pumps, lighting for common areas and hot water systems.

​​Apartment buildings will be scored from one star to six stars. One star is poor, three stars is average and six stars is market leading. The 2011 Building Better Returns report demonstrated that a 5 star NABERS energy rating delivers a 9% premium in value and the 3-4.5 star NABERS energy ratings deliver a 2-3% premium in value.

If you're paying to get a NABERS assessment now, it makes sense to plan ahead for a high rating. Obtaining a high rating for your strata development requires good energy and water efficiency in common area facilities. Potential retrofits include upgrades to lighting, HVAC systems, pool pumps, hot water systems, sensors and building management systems. If you're not sure, take the NABERS Quiz to find out if you should engage a NABERS assessor. It may make sense to improve energy and water efficiency before you engage a formal assessment.

​What's Involved in Getting RatedTo participate, strata schemes need to provide 12 months of utility bills for common areas, which can sometimes include multiple electricity, gas and water accounts. You will also need to sign a written agreement, provide strata plans, and facilitate a site visit by an assessor. Carparking plans, floorplans, technical drawings, strata management statements and detailed expense statements are desirable.

How it will work in apartment buildings:

The Owners Corporation needs to agree to participate in the NABERS scheme.

Building metrics data, water and energy billing information is collected and provided to NABERS. This is usually facilitated by the building manager or strata manager.

A NABERS assessor is appointed to assess the data, conduct a site visit and lodge the findings.

A NABERS rating is automatically generated based on the data and provided to the strata scheme. The rating will be quality checked and certified by NABERS.

The NABERS for Apartment Buildings rating is valid for one year. The process must be repeated annually at a minimum to review, update and validate the rating. Generally speaking energy and water efficiency improvements undertaken between assessments should increase the rating result.

Strata Managers Preparing for NABERSNABERS for Apartment Buildings was recently featured at the strata industry conference SCA 'Power of Now' and by well known adventurer and environmentalist Tim Jarvis at the PICA Group conference. Strata managers including Strata Choice and Strata Plus, are also promoting NABERS for Apartments. Other strata managers are running training sessions for all their staff to understand the projects which can be run now so that their strata schemes have already scraped an extra ½ star or full-star when they get their first NABERS rating approved.

​Our top ten points for Strata Managers preparing for NABERS​

Add a sustainability line item into financial accounts now

Build awareness with banner promotions on client-facing emails

Segment the high rise portfolio (6 storeys and above) to target first

Engage low cost energy and water reviews to get committees thinking

Solar feasibility reports to understand the renewable opportunity

Update asset management register for the scheme

Scan utility bills into document management systems

Enrich data records in strata management software

Run sustainability training session for strata/building managers

Invite fellow strata managers to subscribe to Strata Energy News

Strata managers are also working with property developers who are commissioning sustainability reports while the building is still a ‘hole in the ground’. Developers have been looking for up to a 9% uplift in property valuations while selling off the plan as a 'green building'. Well known green developments include The Commons, Nightingale, Central Park, Yarra Bend and Whitegum Valley. This is likely to accelerate as NABERS ratings for residential apartment developments become formalised in June.​

​Government Backing NABERSThe development of NABERS for Apartment Buildings has being jointly funded by state and federal governments, the COAG Energy Council, which initially contributed $400,000 for a pilot program in 2017. The project is part of the National Energy Productivity Plan’s 2030 targets to achieve a 40 per cent increase in energy productivity.​NABERS national program manager Carlos Flores said “The built environment contributes almost a quarter of Australia’s emissions, and residential apartments represent the fastest growing market in the built environment. We know bringing large-scale sustainability change to the apartment sector will be a major challenge, but one that government and industry can tackle if we work together.”

Figures from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), which administers the scheme, show the office sector is now saving more than $100 million a year in power bills compared to 2010 levels.This has resulted in annual CO2 emissions savings of more than 635,000 tons, equivalent to taking more than 160,000 cars off the road. The OEH has been working with participants in the strata industry, including Wattblock, to develop the new NABERS for Apartment Buildings rating system.​City of Sydney chief executive Monica Barone said “We estimate 80 per cent of Sydneysiders will live in apartments by 2030 and these residents will demand higher environmental standards for their apartment buildings.” She commented that more than 600 of the City’s apartment buildings are six storeys and above. These will be among the first to benefit from the new NABERS tool.​

The City of Melbourne is supporting the program with subsidies to rate an initial 20 apartment buildings in water and energy use efficiency.

According to Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, “energy efficiency is now understood as more than just a cost-saving strategy; it’s a way to improve amenity, occupant health and leaseability, which has had a huge impact."

The Property Council of Australia has added its support for the tool, with CEO Ken Morrison saying it “reflects the property industry’s willingness to work with government on sensible and cost-effective measures which reduce emissions”.

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Scott Witheridge on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.

]]>Sun, 03 Jun 2018 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.wattblock.com/news/australian-national-strata-data-reportThe first comprehensive national report of the strata and community title sector reveals there are about 2.6 million strata title lots in Australia with an insured value of $995 billion.

​The Australian National Strata Data Report was launched at the Strata Community Association (SCA) National Conference in Hobart earlier this month. SCA supported the project which was conducted by the City Futures Research Centre at the University of NSW.

Co-author Associate Professor Hazel Easthope said that the report highlighted the economic value of the strata industry to the national economy.

“The vast majority of private apartments in Australia, as well as many other attached properties, such as townhouses and commercial properties, are owned under strata title, and this is the first time we have had figures about the scale and value of the sector,” Associate Professor Easthope said.

Erik Adriaanse, CEO of Strata Community Association, commented "The report will be a huge opportunity to assess what the sector does, how big it is, how the economy benefits from the goods and services it supplies, and the extent these services contribute to national income."

The strata industry directly employs approximately 9,000 people. In 2017 it was serviced by more than 3 million callout trade jobs and around 440,000 services from professionals such as lawyers, valuers, engineers, accountants, and insurers.

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Scott Witheridge on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.

The recently rebranded “Strata Community Association” is the peak national body for strata. This year the annual conference was held in Hobart, a city which is starting to embrace strata-living. A revelry-inducing cool climate attracted special guests from the U.S., N.Z., Canada and Spain.​

Greg introduced the PICA Group ‘Pyramid of Services’ underpinned by the Urbanise platform but clarified that “we are not tech freaks, it is an enabler”. He also trademarked an internal electronic knowledge base they are building called “PICApedia”

David Hampton emphasised “getting the quality right”, complimented his strata managers on being subject matter experts (e.g. NBN) but raised the problem of “email as the tool” creating a “mushroom effect” with strata committees. Using banking as an example he said “If the tools are right, you don’t need to speak to your bank manager.” Commbank app allows you to replace your credit cards after your wallet is stolen....you can “automate the crap out of that”.

Matthew Ambers commented that the strata manager of the future is “CRM based” and made reference to Artificial Intelligence, data and analytics as “one of the shifts in workflow”.

Chris Duggan applauded Tim Mackenzie’s “People first” approach and wanting strata managers to become “trusted advisors”. He reinforced the value of people going to their bank manager and focussed on developing “better staff employment opportunities” while disrupting your own business.

Next up was Hazel Easthope from UNSW City Futures research centre, launching the largest study of the strata industry. Some key stats she has uncovered from the Australian strata industry are:

316,227 strata schemes

Property Value: $995bn

2.2m apartment residents

2.6m lots, only 1.9m are under management

>9,000 people in direct employment

$6.6bn direct spending on schemes p.a.

Daniel Borin from the Maxsoft Group brought an interesting presentation on “Net Promoter Score” or NPS. NPS is an intent focused rather than emotion-focused customer survey technique. The percentage of “Promoters” who rate you as 9 or 10 minus the percentage of “Detractors” who rate you 0-6 is your Net Promoter Score. Maxsoft Group were engaged by a number of strata managers to survey 118,000 strata committee members, getting 38,000 responses. Nationally, the average NPS score for strata managers is -8. Sydney is tragic at -13. Brisbane is less woeful at -6. The Gold Coast is striving for ‘fair to middling’ at +3, possibly influenced by the greater percentage of onsite building managers taking frontline pressure off strata managers.

​This data is likely skewed to larger strata schemes but the other national trend is that the smaller the strata scheme, the less likely the strata committee member is likely to be a Net Promoter of the strata manager. This analysis has to be compared with strata scheme profitability. For example, PICA Group’s internal NPS data identified their top 20 strata managers by NPS. However, when scheme profitability was compared against the top 20 strata managers by NPS, the strata managers with the highest NPS ratings did not have the highest profitability per scheme.

The Top Detractor Themes identified by Daniel’s survey were:

Poor response time - 27%

Expensive/not good value - 18%

Poor follow up - 12%

Poor communication - 12%

Not proactive - 7%

The Top Promoter Themes from the survey were:

Prompt - 17%

Professional - 15%

Efficient - 9%

Friendly - 8%

Helpful - 8%

For something different, it took an artist, Sarah Roman Dahl, to paint for us and send home the message that “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong”

From an international panel we understood the correlation between the number of words in strata title acts per Spanish-speaking country and the quality of the strata title system. In South Europe, a massive 80% of people live in strata. Strata managers in Chile are more effective at getting strata levies paid as they “just cut the water supply” according to Pepe Gutierrez. From North America we learned that worldwide strata management is “about dealing with people in close proximity behaving badly”. The experience in the U.S. called out a top issue as preparing for electric vehicle charging in strata buildings.

From Robyn Moore, we have the famous quote on motivating staff members being to take out the CRAPC for CynicismR for ResentmentA for AngerP for ProcrastinationShe reminded us to “Deal with the urgency, before the emergency”.

Dennis Lee from NSW Office of Environment & Heritage presented on the upcoming national launch of NABERS for Apartment Buildings happening this week. NABERS for Apartment Buildings is a six star environmental rating system which will be rolled out nationally after an 18 month development process involving industry engagement with the likes of Olivera Ferguson (Strataplus).

Richard Minx from Savant Power and Energy mentioned some impressive payback times on solar on strata and commented that Macquarie lends in this area. He reinforced the need to get energy audits done to look at lighting, power factor etc. On the battery front he cited long payback times, not making them effective at the current time. He also explained how embedded networks allow aggregated purchasing power for apartment owners and the common areas. Richard is bullish on electric vehicles coming to strata citing 50% of new car sales in 2030 predicted to be electric. To boil it down, there are too options for strata managers and strata committees to save on energy.

Embedded networks

Energy efficiency

At the national awards dinner, it was all about StrataChoice this year. StrataChoice’s Daniel Cockerell took out the Strata Manager award and StrataChoice backed it up by taking out National Large Strata Management business of the year. Congratulations to Geoff and Daniel Linders. There was also a strong showing from Strataplus with Amberley Keating from Port Stephens taking out the Support Team Member award and David Ferguson getting inducted into the “Hall of Fame.”

After 3 days of partying, sore heads and visits to the art museum MONA where you can sit on a toilet seat and view your own faeces, there seemed to be some pervading themes at the conference. We now know that in strata you can “automate the crap”, “remove the CRAP” and “view your own crap”....and that’s the wrap.

Brent ClarkCEO, Wattblock

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Scott Witheridge on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.

]]>Tue, 22 May 2018 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.wattblock.com/news/the-wedding-the-power-and-the-electric-vehicle​As apartment dwellers worldwide tuned into the Royal wedding, a most traditional family was making a statement.

​​When Prince Harry opened the door of the 1968 E-Type Jag for his new bride, Meghan Markle, the Royal Family was making a statement. While he only drove her 800m down the road to the next party, the vintage car had been retrofitted with an electric drive train sporting a 220kW engine.

​It was a quiet ride and one which reduced air pollution for the onlookers.

If you are guessing what a concept electric Jaguar costs, it might set you back a cool 350,000 quid. This is a little more expensive than the electric Teslas, BMW’s and Outlanders in Australia’s strata buildings today….but an important sign of the times.

The Royal couple had just triggered the 4th largest surge in power demand in the history of Britain’s National Grid registering 2,400 Megawatts. The only three events which were ahead of them were two world cup soccer semi-finals and the conclusion of an episode of the Thorn Birds in 1984!

There has been an improvement in energy efficiency in Britain since Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981, where the additional power surge of 1800 Megawatts experienced was the equivalent of boiling 720,000 kettles at the same time.

This most recent wedding was on a bank holiday weekend, which means a few more people might have left town. The power spike shows that the impact of people being in the streets was not enough to outweigh the TV interest in the trans-atlantic union.

As well as sharing the power of love, the royal couple shared a love for change and a sustainable energy future.

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Scott Witheridge on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.

Strata managers can now register buildings in the City of Sydney and in Melbourne for a fully funded electric vehicle recharge assessment. Registrations for Brisbane have closed. However, if you're interested in learning more contact Scott Witheridge on (02) 9977 1801. Read more about the program here.​

]]>Mon, 16 Apr 2018 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.wattblock.com/news/hidden-costs-of-cheap-solar-installationsWhat you need to know about Solar Installers before you make a decision based on price alone.

If you are considering making an investment in a solar, it is important to ensure a quality solar installer is used as the system is designed to last more than 30 years. Here are a few tips to be aware of.

Unfortunately, there are a number of installers out there who just want to make a quick buck and many people lack the expertise to differentiate system quality. Firstly, always get more than one quote for your solar system. This is because some installers may quote as much as double if the process is not competitive. Ask for quality components and compare quotes based on product quality as well as price. Good quality generally costs more. ​

Before you commit, check the terms and conditions. Some solar installers claim to offer a very low price with top quality components. However, often the fine print states that if the advertised product becomes “unavailable” it can be substituted with an “equivalent” product, which is often an unknown brand.​Last but not least, check the warranties. Many people end up going with a cheap solar installer because they have been reassured by their “25 year performance warranty”. In reality, this warranty can be worthless. A solar system usually comes with 4 separate warranties broken up in the following:

Solar Panel Performance Warranty: Ensure the panel still produces 80% of power after 25 years (typical industry standard).

Solar Panel Product Warranty: Manufacturer’s warranty for defects to either replace, repair or provide a refund for panels which fail within the product warranty period. Product warranty is a key factor in determining the quality of solar panels. The warranty period is generally 10 years.

Solar Inverter Product Warranty: The purpose of the inverter is to convert the DC energy output from the solar panels to usable AC power at home. The inverter is the part of the system that is most likely to experience a fault which can result in a complete system shut down. Many of the lesser known 'value' brands will only repair a faulty unit if it is shipped back to them at the owners cost. This can take several weeks and sometimes months. On the other hand, reputable manufacturers often ship replacement units in 3-5 business days.

Installation Warranty: It is important to understand what is covered under the installation warranty as it can vary between installers. Will you have to pay for a service call if one of the components fail? Does the installer take care of the entire system if there is any problem? The length of the installation warranty tells us a lot about the installers confidence in the quality of their installation. Finally, if the solar company uses contractors instead of their own electricians, you may find the response times to a warranty claim may take a lot longer.

​Spending additional time to examine the product specifications, warranties and the terms and conditions you have been offered will give you a good insight into how different companies operate. This may help you decide whom to place your order with. So there is more to consider than just the price tag.​